“Knowing your body gives you the power to change it, maintain it, decorate it and strengthen it.”
— Dr. Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen
There are many enlightened physicians who are out there helping to educate women on how to maintain a healthy mind, body, and spirit before and after menopause, and Diana Schwarzbein M.D. is one of them.
Dr. Schwarzbein talks about the transfer of power in her three part webinar series “Menopause Power.” Her goal is to enable you to be a more active participant in making decisions about your health so that you can choose the path that is right for you. See http://www.schwarzbeinprinciple.com/pgs/home.html
Why do you need the power? Dr. Schwarzbein emphasizes:
1) Menopause is the most widely mismanaged health problem in America.
2) Menopause increases your risk for the degenerative diseases of aging.
What are the degenerative diseases of aging?
Heart disease
Cancer
Type 2 Diabetes
Metabolic Syndrome
Alzheimer’s Dementia
Osteoporosis
Stroke
Hypertension
The “Schwarzbein Principle” is this: “Degenerative Diseases of aging are not genetic; they are acquired due to metabolic unbalances.”
Schwarzbein, who says that metabolism is “the great balancing act,” explaines metabolism as follows:
Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in living organisms to maintain life – so the organism can grow, reproduce, maintain its cellular structures, and respond to its environment.
In simplest terms, these chemical reactions are of two types – building and using.
Metabolic balance means the body is building at the same rate as it is using.
Metabolic imbalance exists when the building and the using are not balanced. Metabolic imbalance is caused by:
Aging
The loss of any hormone system
Genetic Factors
Lifestyle: stress, being busy, lack of sleep, diet, sugar, exercise, etc.
How does metabolic imbalance relate to menopause? Menopause causes metabolic imbalance. Per Dr. Schwarzbein, the loss of any hormone system causes metabolic imbalance. Metabolic imbalance causes degenerative diseases of aging. Menopause is the permanent loss of your sex hormone system. Therefore, menopause causes degenerative diseases of aging – unless the sex hormone system is restored.
Exogenous factors also cause metabolic imbalance:
Poor nutrition
Stress, including being busy and inefficient sleep
Toxins – alcohol, nicotine, sugar, excessive caffeine, and exposure to environmental chemicals
Improper exercise – too much or too little
How does genetics play a part? Dr. Schwarzbein explains:
Each of us has genetic predispositions for degenerative diseases of aging.
Genetic predisposition is really which of your systems is going to fail first due to metabolic imbalance caused by aging, hormone loss, and poor lifestyle habits.
Knowledge is power. . . please refer to last week’s articles where I explain what Dr. Schwarzbein has to say about the above exogenous factors.
